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The Soulmate Principle
(This article refers to the concept of soulmates, or Soulmate Principle. You may be looking for the novel Soulmate) In the Night World series, The Soulmate Principle is the idea of two people being destined for each other at birth. These people are called soulmates. The concept of soulmates is renown and relatively respected among Night People - though some dismiss it as nonsense - but this notion is found intolerable when the soulmate of a Night Person turns out to be human, due to the cardinal laws of the Night World. The Soulmate Principle is heavily featured in the series. The Soulmate Bond Soulmates will often instantly 'recognize' or be drawn to one another, even if they have never met. A soulmate couple are regarded as being 'perfect' for each other in every way. Usually, the soulmates provide each other with understanding, healing and strength. Soulmates are connected by a phenomena called the "silver cord," or soulmate bond, which remains unbroken until death (and in some cases, beyond). It can be felt by a shock or a jolt of electricity when bare skin touches bare skin. Soulmates can share thoughts and emotions with each other through the bond, similar to telepathy; vampires can do the same when they share blood with their soulmates (if their soulmate is not also a vampire). Finding one's soulmate is regarded as being quite rare, with some people living their entire life without ever finding their soulmate. Soulmates who meet as children will often be drawn to one another and become close friends, such as in the case of Poppy North and James Rasmussen, and Jez Redfern and Morgead Blackthorn. However, at this point their bond is only one of strong friendship, not developing into a romantic one until they are older. It can actually take some time for some soulmate couples to realise their bond, although the underlying feelings are always present. As mentioned in Daughters of Darkness, soulmates can appear 'wrong' for one another in many ways on the surface, but ultimately, they complete one another perfectly and, after meeting and parting, in spite of differences, the two people involved can never truly be happy again without one another. In very rare instances, it is possible for one soulmate to harm and even kill the other in spite of their bond, although this usually happens due to accident or heavily impaired judgment. In Spellbinder, Eric Ross is shown to be immune to the effects of love spells after meeting his soulmate Thea Harman, possibly indicating that the strength of the soulmate bond overrides these spells. In Black Dawn, Delos Redfern is able to use the soulmate bond to project his consciousness back in time to warn his soulmate, Maggie Neely, in a dream. So far, Delos is the first and only person to do this; it is unknown if this ability is exclusive to lamia, or if any person who has found their soulmate could potentially do this. It has been noted that finding one's soulmate can result in drastic changes in one or both soulmates' personality or worldview; one notable example being Ash Redfern, who after meeting and accepting his love for his soulmate Mary-Lynette, began to regret his selfish, playboy lifestyle and derision of humans, and seeks to become a more moral person to be 'worthy' of her. Rashel Jordan and John Quinn were also both rather cynical, bitter and angry people, but after meeting and accepting their bond, they begin to let go of their anger and achieve some form of inner peace, possibly bolstered by the fact they both understand what the other is going through and thus can emphasize with each other easily. Furthermore, a person's soulmate apparently never changes. Old Souls always have the same soulmate, even after being reincarnated (possibly because their essential 'essence' or 'spirit' remains the same). It's been implied that some Old Souls, after finding their soulmate, may reincarnate together and live many lives side by side. All species can be affected by the Soulmate Principle and there are documented cases of Night People being soulmates with Night People outside their own species or even humans, though this is often problematic, due to the laws of the Night World forbidding forming attachments to humans. However, the pull of the soulmate bond and desire to be with one's soulmate can often prove stronger than fear of execution or indoctrinated prejudice, with many interspecies couples defying the Night World to be together. History The concept of the Soulmate Principle has been around since the Stone Age, as Hecate Witch-Queen's tribe were apparently aware of and believed in the Soulmate Principle. Belief in the Soulmate Principle is apparently quite common among Night People in the modern age, although - possibly due to its rarity - some are skeptical of its existence or are downright derogatory of it, believing it to be nothing more than superstitious or wish-fulfilling nonsense. With the New Millennium coming up, belief in the Soulmate Principle seems to have been fully revived and brought to the forefront of the Night World. For some reason, many Redfern and Harman descendants are being exposed to the Soulmate Principle and finding human soulmates. No one knows why this is happening, though the witches have speculated it is to bring humans and Night People together in wake of the impending apocalypse. The Inner Circle of Witches has acknowledged that The Old Powers are re-awakening, and the Soulmate Principle is connected with this. The Old Powers rising again is meant to symbolize something, but the Inner Circle isn't sure of its meaning. Circle Daybreak was re-formed in acknowledgement of the existence of the Soulmate Principle; its focus was on helping couples who are soulmates and trying to convince the Night World and humanity to live in harmony. Confirmed Soulmate Couples In Night World Series *Poppy North and James Rasmussen *Mary-Lynnette Carter and Ash Redfern *Thea Harman and Eric Ross *Gillian Lennox and David Blackburn *Rashel Jordan and John Quinn *Hannah Snow and Thierry Descouedres *Jezebel Redfern and Morgead Blackthorn *Maggie Neely and Delos Redfern *Raksha Keller and Galen Drache Disputed Status *Grinnel Riverman and Maya Hearth-Woman ( It is unknown if Grinnel was a human or a witch , or possibly even a shapeshifter or werewolf . However , It is possible that Red Fern's father , Grinnel is a human . If Grinnel was a human , Maya is one of the earliest known made vampire to have fallen in love with a human . This may suggest that Grinnel and his wife were possibly soulmates.) *Jade Redfern and Mark Carter ( They are instantly attracted to one another and Jade is initially convinced they are soulmates, but they seemingly lack the phenomena of the soulmate bond, with Jade herself questioning whether they are truly soulmates because of this) *Sarah Strange and Kierlan Drache/Mal Harman (Kierlan and Mal are both stated as being Sarah's soulmates, which contradicts the belief that a person can only have one true soulmate. It is currently unknown how or why Sarah seems to have two soulmates; it is also unknown, if she truly only has one soulmate, which of the two boys is her real soulmate) *Melisande Jordan and a panther shapeshifter (The parents of Rashel Jordan and Keller , stated as having possibly been soulmates) *Roxanne Goddard and Brook Redfern (The parents of Jez Redfern , could possibly have been soulmates) Disproven Soulmate Couples * Gillian Lennox and Angel (Gary Fargeon) (Angel claimed they were soulmates, but whilst they did share a close bond, Gillian realised that David Blackburn was her true soulmate; it is also revealed that Gary and Gillian are actually distant relatives) * Iliana Dominick and Galen Drache (they were presumed to be soulmates due to the prophecy stating that the Witch Child would unite the Draches and the Harmans via marriage, but it turned out that Keller was actually Galen's soulmate) Trivia * The Soulmate Principle is the result of The Old Powers awakening in Night World mythology. *The oldest known soulmates are Hannah Snow and Thierry Descouedres. They first discovered they are soulmates about 20,000 years ago (Stone Age era) while Hannah was Hana of the Three Rivers. *The main subjects of the Soulmate Principle seem to be the youngest generation of Redferns and Harmans. *The Soulmate Principle also exists in other works of L.J. Smith including'' The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle series: **In [[w:c:ljanesmith:The Vampire Diaries|''The Vampire Diaries]], Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore are soulmates, as are Bonnie McCullough and Damon Salvatore. **In ''The Secret Circle'', Cassie Blake and Adam Conant are soulmates. *Each soulmate couple appears to have at least one personality aspect or attribute that are held in common with one another **James and Poppy: world music **Ash and Mary-Lynnette: literature and the night (stargazing) **Eric and Thea: love of animals and loss of a parent **Gillian and David: near-death experience **Quinn and Rashel: martial arts, honor and seeing a loved one die in front of them **Thierry and Hannah: history, respect for life and compassion **Morgead and Jez: fighting (sometimes to the point of death), rebelliousness and loss of parents **Delos and Maggie: mountains, stubbornness and family **Galen and Keller: heritage and duty *Sarah Strange is the only person to possibly have two soulmates; a feat which contradicts earlier statements about having one soulmate. It is unknown how this is even possible, but it could be because of the approaching apocalypse. *While Night World law forbids many soulmates, there are a few exceptions: **Poppy and James (even before James turned Poppy into a vampire, she was a lost witch) **Keller and Galen (both are shapeshifters) * The Soulmate Principle concept is the equivalent to the New Age or Western legend known as the Twin Flames, Soul Mates, or Twin Souls concept. ** Other names for the Soulmate Principle include Twin Flames, Twin Souls, Twin Rays, Soul Mates, Divine Complements, One and Only, "The One", One TRUE Soulmate, One True Love, Split Aparts, Essence Twins, One True Beloved, Eternal Beloved, Kindred Spirits, Other Half, Original Halves, Yin and Yang, The Ultimate Soulmate, etc. * The Soulmate Principle could be seen as the equivalent to the Asian myth called the Red String Of Fate or the Jewish myth or term called "Bashert". * Keller and Galen are, thus far, the only soulmate couple to be the same species as each other (both are shapeshifters). Technically, Poppy and James are the same species as well, but James is lamia whilst Poppy is a made vampire, and was originally a lost witch; Galen and Keller were both born shapeshifters. ** Keller and Galen also have the same animal form: both are leopards, although Keller is a melanistic leopard, more commonly referred to as a panther, whilst Galen has traditional coloring. * It is possible for a person to fall in love with and have a happy relationship with someone who is not their soulmate, though after meeting their soulmate, the feelings they had for another person may diminish somewhat in comparison. Examples of this include: **Thierry, who seemed to have feelings for Hellewise and Maya (at least before Maya became a vampire and caused so much destruction and misery) prior to meeting his soulmate Hannah. **Jez, who seemed romantically interested in Hugh Davis before learning Morgead was her soulmate. **Mary-Lynette, who had a crush on Jeremy Lovett (it is safe to say any feelings she had for him were thoroughly quashed not just after she met her soulmate, but also after it was revealed Jeremy was a murderer and tried to forcibly change her into a werewolf). **Quinn, who was in love with Dove Redfern before her untimely death. **David, who dated Tanya Jun and, at least for a while, seemed happy with her. ** Gillian, who loved both Angel and David - Angel claimed they were soulmates, but Gillian eventually realised David was her real soulmate, and her feelings for Angel seemed closer to that of friendship or familial love, especially after she learned he was actually a distant relative of hers. Category:Concepts